SPCR

Hi
I'm looking for a small very quiet table fan. I find that the normal ones you buy at local stores makes too much noise. I just want a slight breeze while I work.
Any suggestions?
Thanks

the Vornado fan is pretty quiet. Unique too -- each fan blade is a piece of poly fabric, and you can stick your fingers in the spinning blades w/o getting hurt. No frame so less turbulence and vibration. Small and easy to move around, 3 speeds.

I'm under the impression that the majority of noise caused by a fan is when the 'sharp edge' of each blade hits the air. Is this correct?

To solve this, maybe there could be a design where the air increases in speed more gradually, or where the area close to the air hitting blade edge is made from a soft material.

Electric motors can also surprisingly be responsible for some of the low-end sound of a desk fan as I have described in a thread over at Physicsforums.com:

http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=415377

Apparently, the new Vornado 660 fan could be the quietest fan for the amount of air it moves. Does anyone have more information on these?

Maybe a USB powered fan would be enough, such as this one from Arctic http://www.arctic-cooling.com/catalog/p ... Path=82_85. Speed can be controlled from 800 to 1800 rpm. Price should be $20 US or less.

They're way too expensive to take seriously, but has anyone tried the new Dyson fans? They look to be based on some sort of rotating airfoil rather than traditional blades.

Metaluna wrote:They're way too expensive to take seriously, but has anyone tried the new Dyson fans? They look to be based on some sort of rotating airfoil rather than traditional blades.

Ones I've seen in action are far from quiet. They sound just like any other box fan, and they cost hundreds of dollars.

Regarding a USB fan...

I did buy one, but it's noisy...it's a small diameter fan that spins at a high RPM

I'm going to USA next week, I'll buy that Vornado Zippy fan suggested above, and report on it. Looks like they sell it at Home Depot

Regards

USB gadget fans are noisy. Suggest you buy a plug, don't buy a USB interface.

The best desk fan (non-oscillating) was the "Kool Operator Jr."

I've had two of them and at low speed the are super quiet but at high speed move an incredible amount of air. They are 5-blades which move a lot more air at a given speed that the 3-blade designs of most other fans like Honeywell and Vornado.

Unfortunately, they are almost impossible to find now and are too expensive if you can.

I broke mine last year and bought a Honeywell to replace it. Not the same...

But all of the fans I mentioned would be way bigger than the Zippi that was recommended.

At work I have a Lakewood WC-8 that I love, but it's been discontinued. Thebuzzelectronics.com has the Lakewood Kool Operator Jr. on their website as "backordered", but on calling them it's been "backordered" for five years now. Has it been discontinued, or has someone out there scored one?

Is there just not a market for this kind of fan anymore? I've bought and returned four fans now looking for something quiet to go to sleep to.

Stefx, any report on the Vornado Zippi? I've tried a Vornado Flippi, very noisy.

I haven't found a site that can ship the Zippi to Canada, and it doesn't seem to be available in Canada.

Does anyone make a AC equivalent to a fanmate? It'd be nice to be able to lower the voltage on a stand or box fan.

http://www.growery.org/3011/Fan-Speed-Control-101 seems to suggest you can buy a variety of products to slow down an AC fan.

amusingly enough it seems they want their fans quiet so no one finds them growing controlled substances.

Anybody in the mood to figure out where to buy a Capacitance level control (No hum fan speed controllers) the picture mentions the names Lutron and Skylark (company and brand) like this http://www.lutron.com/Products/StandAlo ... rview.aspx

It'd take some work but wiring that into circuit that fed a wall socket would allow you to slow down a desk fan.

Well, I'd been checking eBay for a Kool Operator Jr since my post over a year ago... and they've finally showed up! "cripedistributing" appears to be liquidating someone's stock of them at $14 apiece, $10 shipping.

The regular Kool Operator, a large floor fan, seems to be a lot more common and has a very soothing sound to it with very little 60Hz hum.

Klystron wrote:Well, I'd been checking eBay for a Kool Operator Jr since my post over a year ago... and they've finally showed up! "cripedistributing" appears to be liquidating someone's stock of them at $14 apiece, $10 shipping.

Tried a search on ebya -- no go. Do you have a link? Or maybe they're already sold out?

Tried a search on ebya -- no go. Do you have a link? Or maybe they're already sold out?

Search "All Categories" for 'lakewood fan'... it's the third down currently, with 18 left (I picked up three, hope it's enough )

Search "All Categories" for 'lakewood fan'... it's the third down currently, with 18 left (I picked up three, hope it's enough )

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lakewood-8-Kool ... 4cfdb9181c

there a some decent units for camping/tents. 12v too! (just under volt it with a smaller wall wart, if 12v is too loud)

http://www.walmart.com/ip/O2Cool-10-Bat ... r/15522388